Lions take rugby honours

Lions take rugby honours

The Lions got their kit off last weekend – proverbially speaking of course – as they donned a different form of sports’ kit and took to the rugby field instead, all in grand support of Old Leamingtonians Rugby Club’s annual charity rugby festival, Rugby 4 Heroes. Established in 2009, to raise funds for Armed Forces’ charities, the event has gone from strength to strength over the years having raised a fantastic £73,000+ to date and it was consideration for this that prompted the Lions to enter the event.

“A lot of the team have a lot of previous rugby experience” offered injured Lion and Tournament Team Manager, Antoinette Morgan, “so we thought what better way to relax after winning another national championship than to have a run around in the fresh air whilst supporting a great cause.”

The team’s entry – the brain-child of former premiership Worcester winger Michelle Ruddock – came about care of supporting contributions from Morgan and Club Captain Jo Kilby, all of which were subsequently proceeded by a brief but very productive training session held at Birmingham Exiles RFC, under the watchful eye of Coach Fred Ahmed, two days prior to the tournament itself.

“We had a really good but very brief 90mins with Coach Ahmed the Thursday before the tournament” added Ruddock-Lloyd, “…it all felt pretty second nature but there’s no doubt many of us were all a little rusty too.”

The rust however didn’t take long to burn off as on the day the team cruised through their pool of games, against both National Challenge and National Championship One opponents, registering three consecutive shutouts along the way.

“I knew we’d be competitive but I don’t think anyone expected we’d be quite so dominant” offered Lions’ tournament Captain Nancy Stone. “The girls played like a team from the start and just kept on getting better and better throughout the day.”

So much so that when it came to the final, where upon they faced Camp Hill again, they extended their finishing score against the tier two outfit, with, it’s probably fair to say, some finishing prowess still to spare.

“The Lions were a class act from start to finish” added Kilby, “…which, when you think about it, is pretty amazing considering we’re an American Football team that just rocked up to a rugby tournament, featuring pure-rugby teams, that have been playing together all season long, and pretty much dominated them all.”